Iron Tides
by Pyslla
Summary: So Tony has secrets, right? What if there was someone that matched that, plus more? Set First Season, may lead into second. TonyXOC. Rated T for some violence & language. OC.
1. Lesser of Two Evils

**A.N: So, first IMAA fan fiction. I noticed that there isn't many on here, so I'll through my little opinion up, and see how it goes.**

**A.N.N: TITLE IS CRAP. I KNOW. SUGGESTIONS WELCOME.**

* * *

><p>Sarah looked up at the large building that was the Tomorrow Academy. Hitching her bag higher onto her shoulder, she summoned all the strength she had not to turn around and go home. The facilities the school had were better than most back in Australia, and that was one of the only pro's that she had, moving to America with her mum and not to stay in Australia with her father. He was her father, and even for all his faults she still loved him, but he was just too hard to live with for long periods of time; coming home late at night, sleeping in late into the morning. Sarah had cared for herself, but it was eventually too hard.<p>

Take the lesser of two evils.

She stepped inside the school, moving to the side of the corridor to dodge the oncoming avalanche of teenagers. Taking out the map and timetable they had sent her in the mail, she worked out, after quite a period of time, that a) She had English and b) it was located somewhere on the higher floors. While heading up the monstrous number of stairs, she tried to overtake a group of slow girls, make-up plastered on their faces and gossiping like only old women could. While trying, she caught her foot on one of the stairs and went flying face first into the staircase, her arm pulling out of its socket while trying to keep her vertical.

Reaction: Girls looked, laughed, and walked on, leaving Sarah to suck up the pain, collect her gear and keep going.

She managed to fly though the door of the classroom just as her name was being called.

"Sarah Marley?"

"Here" she replied, while managing to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late!" The teacher just looked at her with her eyebrows raised. "New?" Sarah nodded. Waiting for the teacher to have a response to that, she sighed in relief when the teacher waved her hand towards the spare desks. Excused, she ignored the few sniggers that she heard and whispered comments about her accent, and headed to the back of the classroom, managing to make it to her seat without much of a problem. As soon as she was seated, a bright red-head who was seated just in front of her turned around and started talking to her._ Non-stop._

"Hey, so you're from Australia that is really totally awesome! Is it hot there? Do you ride kangaroo's over there? Are koalas cuddly? Ohmygod are there actually drop bears in the bush and you have to worry about them when you go camping? I've never been camping have you? Is it fun? Oh, my name's Pepper by the way."

"Uh...hi?"

"Oh I love your accent it really suits you and don't let anyone tell you different." Sarah flinched, noting how much her voice actually did stand out from everyone else.

"Miss Potts, do you have something to say?" Turning around, Pepper answered back while Sarah overheard the two guys in front of her whispering.

"Well duh, Pepper always has something to say, it's just never relevant to the subject!" The both laughed quietly and then when the teacher had turned her back, Pepper reached down and smacked them both across the head with the notebook in her hand. Then, collecting her things she got up and came to sit next to Sarah. Dropping all her equipment on the desk, she cupped her chin in her hands and started to whisper.

"Why are you in America?"

"Parents got divorced."

"Oh. You should come and sit with Me and Rhodey and Tony after. If you want to, of course."

"Thanks Pepper, but I don't want to be intruding or anything."

"You're being silly. If you don't come, I'll drag you."

"What ever happened to free will? I had buckets of it back in Australia." Sarah heard 'Tony and Rhodey' start to laugh, obviously listening in to what they were saying.

"What's free will?"

"Okay okay! I'll come. Thanks Pepper."

She smiled and then they both payed attention to what the teacher was saying. English was one of her 'okay' subjects, but that was when they were writing stories, and that wasn't one of the things that were happening anytime soon. The teacher was talking about the texts that they would be studying that semester, including Shakespeare and multiple poets that Sarah had never heard of. Sighing quietly to herself, Sarah opened her notebook and started to write.

* * *

><p>When it came to lunchtime, Pepper managed to tail Sarah all the way to her locker even with Sarah trying to drop her, and gave her just enough time to put everything she had from her classes away and grab her food, and then she dragged her up to the top of the building, talking continuously the whole way.<p>

"You'll get along fine with everyone. But it's okay if you don't like Whitney, 'cause I don't like her either. Whitney Stane, her name is, and her dad has taken over Tony's dad's company, and is turning everything he made into weapons."

"Okay, Pepper, that just made no sense at all."

"I know, it's really quite easy to understand once you listen to the whole story, but it's actually really sad and hi guys!" Managing to very spontaneously change the mood and subject, Pepper led Sarah onto the rooftop. Tony and Rhodey she recognised, just not sure who was who, another girl who must have had to be Whitney, and two other guys, one very tall and bouncing a basketball, the other of an Asian descent. They all stopped talking and looked over to the two girls. Sarah felt the blood rushing to her cheeks with the silence until the basketballer spoke.

"Ooohh! Your that Australian girl, aren't you?"

The Asian laughed. "Nice way to break the ice, Happy."

"Well you weren't saying anything, Jean Con."

"But surely you could have thought of something more, I don't know... subtle?"

"Loosen up Jean Con, you ruin everything." Pepper cleared her throat.

"Okay so this is Happy, over there is Jean, the girl being antisocial to everyone except Tony is Whitney, Tony is in red and Rhodey is next to Tony."

"Okay?" Pepper moved to go sit with Tony and Rhodey, so Sarah followed, feeling in a very awkward position, not knowing anyone. Sitting down next to Pepper, Sarah just listened. Unfortunately, Happy decided he wanted to talk to her about her life.

"So like, what do you like doing? I like Basketball and like, yeah."

Um, well, I like science...?"

"Aww man! You're just like Tony! Probably act like Tony too." Tony looked up when his name was said, and laughed at Sarah's face, which was a cross between 'get-me-out-of-this-situation' and 'is-he-always-like-this?'

"Happy, I do your science for you, remember? I could just, you'know... quit doing it."

"See? He's such a party-pooper." Happy got up and walked over to the wall, bouncing the basketball against it. Sarah moved her line of vision from Happy to the people sitting next to her. Pepper had turned her torso towards Sarah and had a look of disgust on her face. Tilting her torso slightly sideways, Sarah saw that the reason was that Whitney had started to talk to Tony and Rhodey. Catching Whitney's eye in the process, she seemed to make things worse as Whitney came over to her and sat down, making Sarah feel very untidy. Pepper turned her back to Whitney, rolling her eyes in the process.

Whitney was dressed in a way Sarah would only think someone going to an important meeting would dress, in a black skirt and orange 3-quarter sleeved top, where Sarah usually just wore a t-shirt and 3-quarter jeans, with her hair tied up so that it was off her face and the back of her neck.

"So Sarah, why did you come to the Tomorrow Academy?" Whitney seemed slightly interested, but mostly Sarah thought it was to annoy Pepper even more than she already had, plainly, her existence in the world could sum most of it up.

"Um, because it's good, I guess?"

"Oh yes, it's really good. Daddy says it's one of the best here." Then Sarah realised that 'Daddy' probably gave her a very generous amount more pocket money than average girls got from their parents.

"What's it like in Australia?"

"Uhh, hot? I'm from Western Australia, and the city is much, _much _different to here. Less skyscrapers and a lot of smaller buildings. Everything overall is smaller. But then it kind of feels more like a suburb, and less like a city" Whitney straightened her back.

"Hmm. What are the shops like there?" Sarah saw her glance quickly at what she was wearing, and felt blood rush to her cheeks.

"Fine. Not as big. I don't really care about what other people wear; I just wear what I feel like."

"You dress to your moods?" Sarah laughed.

"No. I wear what I feel like wearing that morning."

"Oh." Sarah noticed in Whitney's eyes that she was losing interest. Fast.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Whitney held out her hand, and Sarah shook it. Standing up, Whitney flattened her skirt and made her way back over to Tony and Rhodey. After watching her leave, Pepper turned herself back around to Sarah.

"See what I mean?"

Sarah smiled, and leaned over closer towards Pepper, and whispered:

"If I hadn't, you would have thrown me off this building, so yes, I saw." Both girls dissolved into giggles, which grew until both teens were laughing, tears running down their faces. The others stopped what they were doing and stared. Then the bell went. After gathering her gear, Sarah made her way down the stairs with Pepper while the two were trying to gather their composure.

* * *

><p>"Mum, I'm home." Walking into the house that her mother bought in the two weeks that she visited America before moving in, Sarah was still moved by the calm, warm colours that welcomed you into the house. Dumping her bag in the hallway, she moved into the study where her laptop was connected to the charger. Seeing that she had emails to answer, she unplugged the laptop and carried it upstairs to her bedroom.<p>

Stopping at the doorway, she smiled. Sarah had been surprised that her mother had agreed to cover the walls of her room in carpet. This way she was able to stick her photos onto the wall with velcro, easier than blu-tack that continuously fell off.

Jumping on to her bed, Sarah had just logged in when her mother called from downstairs.

"Sarah!"

"Coming!" Removing the laptop from her lap, she headed down the stairs, and turning into the kitchen. Her mother looked up from her paperwork.

Leilani Marley was tall, slim, and if Sarah and her stood together, they looked like twins. Leilani smiled.

"Hey. How was the first day of school?"

"Could've been better. You know me, clumsy; managed to stack it down the stairs." Leilani laughed.

"Things happen. Anyway, we're going to dinner with someone I work with. I need you to be presentable and ready to go in 15." Looking at the clock, Sarah nodded bolted up the staircase.

* * *

><p><strong>OKAY! I don't know if I like this or not, so I need your opinion. I'll continue if you like it, and probably even if you don't. Who is her mum working for? And who is going to be at the dinner? SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. REVIEW!<strong>


	2. Debatable

**Second Chapter. Letting you all out of misery. Sorry about that.**

* * *

><p>Sarah fidgeted as she sat next to her mother at the table. The clothes she had chosen – a lilac silk top and dress pants – were not her usual attire, and when she had come down the stairs in nice jeans and a jacket, her mother had sent her back up to change. When Sarah arrived, she realised why. And now, sitting at an elaborate antique table with ornate china in front of her and a colossal chandelier above her, she couldn't have felt more out of place.<p>

In the car ride to the dinner, her mother had filled her in on most of the itinerary. When she had moved from Australia, a government agency had picked her up. Being a world-renowned free-lance detective with a serious resume to boot, the jobs came thick and fast. But apparently, this one was a big one. Titanic proportions, was what her mother quoted. And the 'please, honey, let me do the talking' was quick to follow.

But when her mother shook hands with the host, Sarah was more than willing to keep her mouth shut and be a picturesque child.

That was when her mother shook hands with Nick Fury, head of SHIELD.

Sitting at the table eating quail and multiple vegetables that she couldn't name, listening to her mother chatting to Fury about foreign affairs and past cases; yeah, it was challenging for her not to excuse herself and have a panic attack in the (probably) gorgeous bathroom that this mansion held. Finishing the quail breast, she realised that the talk about the past cases had stopped, and the serious business was underway.

"I'm not going to lie to you." Fury placed his cutlery on the plate and thanked the waiter that took it away. "We're stuck. SHIELD is a corporation where we don't usually go looking for help from the outside. We have too much information that we need to keep _in_." Leilani smiled.

"I understand completely. Confidentiality is vital."

"That's why we've hired you. With your past experience and reputation, we're relying on you. It would be safe to say that security of America is resting in your hands." Sarah stiffened. Her mother had been one of the people to take down past security threats, but this sounded a tad more serious.

"That is a huge compliment, and I thank you."

"We thank you for your time." Fury and Leilani stood, and Sarah followed suit. Shaking hands, the two agents said their goodbyes and a butler ushered Sarah and Leilani out of the mansion and to their car.

The ride home was excruciatingly painful. Sarah knew that her mother was not going to tell her, even if she asked, and so it was either ignore it or spy. And the spying didn't work out that well last time.

"Sooo…" Sarah dragged the word out.

"Sooo… no."

"Damn. Really? Just a hint?"

"Nope." Sarah sighed. Her mother was good, she gave her that. Reaching the house, Leilani unlocked the door and let them in. Saying goodnight to her mother, Sarah made her way up to her room. The welcoming sight of her photos and the comfy bed made her want to fall in and go straight to sleep, but the flashing from her phone gave her a good idea that she would regret leaving it until the morning. Picking it up, she grimaced at what she saw.

**Messages:**

**54 messages received from Pepper.**

**1 message received from Unknown.**

The fifty four messages she would deal with later, it was the one message from the Unknown that she had a look at.

_Hey Sarah, it's Tony. Pepper was determined to get in contact with you, so she made me text you. Hope you make it out from under the massive stack sent from Pepper :)_

* * *

><p>Sarah was one of the first to arrive to school the next morning. She sat down in the Physics classroom and pulled out her notebook. Along with her photography, engineering was her other love. Having a mother that was an Oxford graduate set high expectations. But she didn't inherit the engineering from her. No, the engineering came from her father. The man that had broken down to tiny pieces and to pick himself back up had turned to alcohol.<p>

The door flung open, making Sarah jump, but it was just Gene, one of the people that she had met the day before on the rooftop. He raised his eyebrows at her, and so she gave him a glare and went back to her notebook.

"Hey." Slamming her notebook closed, she glared up at him as he took a seat on the table across from the one that she was sitting at.

"Hi." Slipping the notebook back into her bag, she pulled out her textbooks and the notebook that contained all her previous notes from her class back in Australia. "What is it that we're doing at the moment?" He, _again_, raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged.

"I wouldn't have a clue. Last time Tony was going over some gismo that he designed." Then, from the hallway, she could hear people coming closer to the room. She could easily make out Pepper, and from there she guessed that the people with her were Tony and Rhodey.

"C'mon guys, she didn't text me back! What if she got kidnapped or something? What about if her mother is actually a spy in disguise and has been kidnapped by, oh I dunno, the Mandarin?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gene stiffen at the mention of the Mandarin, and before she could register that this was probably something wrong, being the daughter of a detective and all, Pepper had entered the room, seen Sarah seated at the table and ran, literally, over to where she was, take the seat next to her and start talking.

"Hi! Why didn't you answer my texts? Why didn't you answer the one I made the others send to you as well?" Sarah assumed that Rhodey had ignored Pepper's request, and she gave him eyes over Pepper's shoulder. Rhodey gave her eyes back and shrugged. Sarah smiled at his response and turned back to Pepper.

"Hi to you too. Well, I went out to dinner with Mum, so I couldn't reply to your texts and by the time I got home it was too late."

"It's never too late."

"Debatable." She saw Tony and Rhodey smirking at how she was handling Pepper as they took their seats on the table to the right.

"Whatever. Who did your mum go out to dinner with?" As she blabbered on to Sarah, the teacher walked in and saw her blabbing on as well.

"Miss Potts, I don't want to have to deal with you talking to..?"

"Sarah Marley".

"Oh that's right. New?" Sarah nodded. "Miss Potts, I don't want to have to deal with you talking continuously. I would like to run a class without interruption. So please, swap places with Mr Stark." Pepper went into argument mode, but there was nothing she could do. Grumbling, she swapped places with Tony.

"Okay. So, Mr Stark, would you kindly continue your explanation from last lesson?" Tony stood up and the teacher moved to the back of the class. Detailed diagrams filled the boards, and everyone in the class was asleep by the time he finished explaining his diagrams.

"This is the repulse technology that I designed, it cuts through the ground like a laser, if you wish to call it, and it can be modified for flight. But I just can't figure out the supersonic levelling…"

Tony fiddled with his diagram, and Sarah realised that this lecture was no more than time for Tony to design this invention and perfect it. Taking to her feet, she moved to the boards and took the pen from Tony.

Tony looked at Sarah as she took the pen from him and observed his design. Was it possible that she even knew what he was talking about, or was she way over her head? Most of the class was asleep, but he didn't really care.

Sarah observed and commented.

"Have you tried doubling back the rotations through the core on the repulses, then modifying the core shaft to increase electron movement, and through doing that also increasing the proportion of power to the stabilisers?". The look on Tony's face was priceless.

Tony could only stare. She knew what she was talking about. And as the words made it to his head, he realised that everything she had just said could and may work.

"Oh, and if the maths is correct, which..." she grimaced "..._most_ of the time it is, that should work for the amount of power that you're getting to those repulsers." He nodded.

"Your right."

Then continued to stare at her.

"What?"

"I…am amazed."

"Well, going by your look, I'm not surprised."

"Where the hell did you learn all that?"

"You're not the only child protégée in the world, Tony. I'm an engineer." He went to say something but words failed him. Looking like a goldfish, he gulped for air as the bell went. Sarah smiled and gave him back the pen. She grabbed her books and walked out of the classroom.

"Sarah!" She paused in the doorway and turned to look at him. "You'll sit with us at lunch?"

Sarah felt pulled in two directions. She wanted to run away and hide, since last time she ever told anyone about her engineering she was nearly kidnapped by terrorists (her mother had pulled a few strings and led the rescue mission herself). But then again, she was standing in front of the one teenager that would be able to understand her in the whole world.

"Okay. But, please, no mention of the engineering. The only reason I said anything is because they're all asleep."

Tony nodded and watched her walk away. Pepper and Rhodey made their way to him with questioning looks. Before Pepper could say anything, he answered the unspoken question.

"Don't panic Pepper, she'll sit with us at lunch again, I made sure of that. And, well, I could see how enthusiastic you both are when it comes to my designs." He smirked and grabbed his books, and the three of them moved to their next class.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was that? Some of you may be thinking you've made her to awesome, she's too mary sue. But, what's the fun in having a boring character. Don't worry. She'll have faults, and so will Tony. So, no Mary sue-ing. <strong>

**Your reviews, watches, fav stories; they all made my day. I apologise for the long time before updating. I get inspiration in the shower at 10 at night.**

**Review! :) **

**PS – The random science talk, I made up on the spot. If it doesn't make sense, that is why. It's fictional. Please, no flames because I broke something like Newtons First Law or whatever. **


	3. SHIELDing

**Third Chapter. Woop woop! I like this story, and the ideas are coming in slowly, plus I have school, so forgive me for updating slowly :)**

* * *

><p>"…and so, considering dramatic conventions and techniques, what can this play tell us about gender conflict during this time period?" Drama was not one of Sarah's best subjects. Yes she was good at the acting part, but she had learnt to lie from the best.<p>

The bell rang, and before the teacher could set any homework, the class had bolted out of the classroom, leaving Sarah sitting at her desk. Physics had caused her brain to work overtime, weighing up option after option. Skip out lunch on the roof and feel the wrath of Pepper after, or go, and spend the time hoping that Tony didn't bring up the engineering, or at least do it subtly. After deciding that running from Pepper probably wasn't the best idea, she packed her books up and headed towards her locker. Turning the corner on the hallway, she looked up and saw Pepper leaning against her locker.

Pepper saw her, smirked and waited for Sarah to come into hearing range.

"You think that I would let you get out of lunch with us? Never! What happened in Physics? I fell asleep. Tony can go on forever about things he designs. You just tune out after a while." Sarah had grabbed her lunch and they had made their way up to the roof. Sarah noticed that Gene was missing, along with Whitney.

"Yes!" Pepper started jumping up and down. "Whitney must be having lunch with her dad! Booyah!" The rest left on the roof looked over to where the two emerged from the stairs, and smiled when they saw Pepper dancing. All except Tony, who was fiddling with his phone. Pepper pulled Sarah over to the others, and started meshing words together so quickly that Sarah couldn't understand what she was talking about. Rhodey was studying for the History test they had tomorrow, and Happy was doing his thing over on the other side of the roof.

Sarah moved towards the edge of the roof and looked on to the city. In the small area that she could see, it was already bigger than Perth.

"Hey." She turned, and saw Tony approaching.

"Hey. Decided to finally emerge into reality? Welcome. It's boring. " He laughed as he joined her at the edge.

"You of all people should understand that." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Is that Stark International?" Sarah pointed to the building.

"Yeah. Used to be home."

"Used to be?" Tony sighed.

"When my father and I were in the plane crash, he didn't survive. Obadiah Stane took control of the company and is turning everything my father and I designed into weapons. And I mean everything." He turned away and looked over to where Rhodey and Pepper were arguing.

"I take over at 18, but I don't know if I can do that anymore. The board seems happy enough with him, and they could prevent me inheriting the company."

"I'm sorry." He smiled.

"You get used to it. Now, I told you my background, how about you tell me how you know so much about engineering?" Sarah cringed. This was what she wanted to avoid at all costs. But he might understand.

"You know the basics. My parents divorced, my mum moved here and so did I."

"But it doesn't explain how you know…"

"Okay, fine. My father… he worked for Interpol. He was the guy that they took everything to when they didn't know what it was. SHIELD used him back when he was working on stuff they didn't understand." She paused, and then turned to Tony.

"He was friends with your dad." She watched him freeze, then turn to look at her.

"Really?" Sarah nodded.

"You know your father worked for SHIELD at a point, don't you?"

"He built their helicarrier."

"Right. Did a freaking good job as well. Anyway, at that time, they got my father in to look at some of the tech that they had gotten of the raid they did on the black market in China." Sarah moved from the edge of the building and paced.

"They got him to reverse-engineer most of it. They would have got your dad to do it, but he was running a company." Sarah walked back over to the ledge and sat down.

"I learnt off him. Before he decided to throw himself into alcohol. Then he just became unbearable." She smiled.

"And now I'm here. Woo."

"America's more interesting than Australia, you've got to admit. Plus, you could get the things you need to build your designs." She raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say I have designs?" Tony smirked.

"I quote: _Have you tried doubling back the rotations…_ blah and so on. C'mon! Only someone who either spends their whole life reading or observing engineering would be able to say that without experience in actually designing and building things!" Sarah glared at him teasingly and turned to look over the city. It was more fascinating than Australia by far. The warning bell rang out, giving the group five minutes to get to fifth period. Sarah and Tony turned to head back to where the others were on the far side of the roof when Sarah paused.

Something was different, she could feel it. Her instincts were the one thing her mum always told her to listen to, and right now they were screaming at her that something was wrong.

"Sarah?" Tony had noticed her pause. She slowly spun in a circle, taking in everything that she could see. One more piece of guidance from her mother.

Buildings… more buildings… helicopter that was on fire hurdling en route for the roof…

Sarah went into overdrive. Estimating, they had about 9 seconds until it hit them. Cursing on bad timing, she ran towards the others.

"Run!" She didn't have to say anything. They were already running for their lives to the door leading from the roof. Turning back, she realised that her pause to evaluate the amount of time that she had was going to get her killed.

She felt someone take hold of her around the middle and drag her, literally, into the door and down the stairs. One second passed and then someone flung themselves on top of her just as the helicopter hit the roof. Everything blurred into a continuous nothingness and she and the person on top of her rolled down the last part of the stairs just as the roof buckled and collapsed where they were earlier. Dust and debris surrounded her and her eyes focused. Her eyes focused on the person that jumped and, well, saved her life.

Tony coughed as got off the top of her. Then he saw her expression. Shock, mainly, with a bit of amusement on the side. Sarah sat up.

"Are you completely insane?" He mirrored her expression.

"What?"

"Are you insane?" He looked back to where they were before and whistled. Then he turned back to where she was still staring at him. "Are you okay? Does anything really hurt?"

"Are _you_ okay? You dragged me down a flight of stairs and out of the way of a burning helicopter!" His face radiated concern.

"You don't look okay. Seriously, does anything hurt?"

"No, I think I'm okay." Looking around, she couldn't see anyone else. Tony moved to his feet and pulled her up along with him. The shock subsided, and she could hear yells from somewhere. Then she looked around.

The roof had caved in over the stairs, and a lot of rubble had rolled and blocked the surrounding corridors and exit routes.

"Uhh…"

"Yeah, I noticed. Any ideas, genius?" She glared at him.

"I'm no genius, brainchild. I guess I have to thank you for saving my life."

"I guess you do."

"Don't get smug about it."

"Uh huh. Surree." Then they both heard a familiar voice.

"Tony! Sarah! Omg Rhodey what if they're trapped under something and they're suffocating to death! What if they are dead! Oh no. Who gets their stuff?"

Sarah laughed.

"Pepper is never getting my stuff. Hear this as a witness." Tony smiled. Sarah called out in the general direction of the Pepper voice.

"Pepper!"

"Sarah! Are you okay? Is Tony okay?"

"Hey Pep. Yes, I'm fine. We're both fine." The next voice they heard was from Rhodey.

"Seriously guys. Never do that again."

"Of course. I plan on attempting to kill myself by flaming helicopter next week. Would you like to join? Tony's already had the experience, I think he'll pass." They could hear the rubble being moved from where they guessed Rhodey and Pepper were, and they waited until a gap appeared. The gap widened and then the first to come through where medical officers. Both Tony and Sarah refused to get carried on stretchers and they made their way out of the space. Moving out first, Sarah saw light for two seconds before Pepper threw herself at her.

"Oh thank God you guys are all right!" Sarah flinched.

"Ah. Pepper? Little bit too much squeezing here. Kinda sore."

"Ooo sorry!" She let go immediately. Sarah's eyes focused and noticed the vast amount of people that surrounded the rubble. Turning around, she saw Tony talking to the medics. Moving towards them, she glared at him as she heard what he was saying.

"I'm fine, but I think you need to check Sarah out. She hit her head pretty bad on the way down the stairs."

"What about you, Mr Stark?"

"The best thing I can do is go home and fix some things up." Sarah made her way next to Tony.

"Well in that case, I'll go home too and fix some stuff up." Before Tony could protest, Sarah shot back an answer.

"If you think that you're going home, then so am I. Plus…" She looked behind the medics where the crash site was. "I need to ring someone that will check this out." Walking past the medics, and ignoring protests by all the people behind her, she walked up to where the gap was and entered.

"Hey!" Sarah turned and saw Tony following.

"I think it's my turn to say are you completely insane? This place could buckle any second!"

"Exactly why I should have a look now." Moving towards the damaged staircase, she saw the side of the helicopter was resting and blocking the staircase. Moving closer, she brushed the dust off of the side and the room groaned. Tony grabbed hold of her shoulders.

"Seriously Sarah, we need to get out." She held up her hand for him to be silent. She had frozen when she brushed the first bit of dust off of the helicopter, but she moved quickly to brush the remaining off. Tony moved from behind her to next to her. Both faces held pure shock. Tony was the first to speak.

"Is that…?"

"I think so. But…"

"They never come down."

"Ever."

"My dad made sure of it."

"So did mine."

The mark on the side of the helicopter was from SHIELD.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh I am cruel. So very unkind. Cliff-hanger! Well, not really. I could have stopped it before I told you it was a SHIELD helicopter. Now that <strong>_**would**_** be cruel. **

**I love the reviews, favourites, story alerts, ANYTHING for this story. Thank you so much everyone!**

**Please review. Give me insight to your minds!**


	4. Irrelevant

**Chapter Four! WOOO. Watching season 2 of IMAA on the internet, amazing is all I have to say. But sometimes I wish I could slap Tony. -. - Asshole. ANYWAY, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Tony, hold up. Explain that again."<p>

"Fine. The helicopter that nearly took us out was from SHIELD. My dad built most of their tech, and so did Sarah's, apparently. So, unless something was up, it would never come down. Ever." Tony kicked the repulsers into supersonic. The Mark 2 suit still had its kinks, but unless he wanted to take the War Machine out, this would have to do.

"I want to get a better look at the crash site. Maybe something happened that I overlooked."

"You ought to be careful. This was a SHIELD helicopter. They probably already cleaned up."

"No harm in checking." Tony cut the repulsers and landed on a skyscraper roof a couple of buildings down. Zooming in, he kicked himself.

"You seeing this? You're right. They already cleaned up."

"Told you." Tony took to the air and headed back home.

"Anyway Tony, what happened in Physics. Something happened. And don't lie; you're really bad at it."

"Nothing happened."

"You are such a bad liar." Silence filled the air until Tony made it back to the armoury and got out of the suit. Checking the computer, he saw a few glitches and went to work.

"Fine. You fell asleep."

"I know that. What happened between you and Sarah? She bolted out after." Tony paused, and then turned to face Rhodey.

"I told her I wouldn't say anything."

"I won't tell."

"I know." Tony sighed.

"She's…unbelievable. Like, seriously unbelievable. She's just as smart as I am. Probably smarter. Rhodey, there is someone that thinks the way I do!"

"No one thinks the way you do man."

"Hardy ha ha. No, I'm serious. She's a genius."

* * *

><p>Sarah opened the front door and the first thing she noticed was the note that her mum had left her.<p>

_S. I'll be back later, need to do some things. We'll talk then. L._

Sarah cringed. Maybe ringing her mum wasn't the best idea, but then again, she was sort of a SHIELD agent. They, SHIELD, had turned up about 5 minutes after she had rung her mum concerning the crash. As she repeated all the information that she remembered about the crash, the agent in charge, Maria Hill, didn't batter an eyelid. When she asked about the reason for the crash, the agent turned around and gave no helpful information whatsoever.

_Sarah turned to Maria._

"_Why did the helicopter crash. It was damaged." Maria spun on her heels and stared Sarah down. _

"_Sarah, you really have no reason to worry. SHIELD deals with this sort of thing all the time." She moved forward and placed her hand on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah fought the urge to shrug it off. "No reason at all."_

The only thing that bugged her was that they didn't deal with one of their helicopters coming down every day. They were, literally, the safest flying vehicle on the planet. And the fact that she had to _ring_ for SHIELD to know what had happened was seriously weird.

Climbing the stairs up to her room, she recalled the conversation she had with Tony on the roof.

"_America's more interesting than Australia, you've got to admit. Plus, you could get the things you need to build your designs." She raised an eyebrow._

"_What makes you say I have designs?" Tony smirked._

"_I quote: Have you tried doubling back the rotations… blah and so on. C'mon! Only someone who either spends their whole life reading or observing engineering would be able to say that without experience in actually designing and building things!"_

Yes, she did have designs. One that did need the tech and things that was located in America. But going into a store and asking for things that she needed would give authorities the idea that she would be building something dangerous. She would need to get it from more discreet sources. Picking up her phone, she typed in a number she hadn't called in a long time.

"Wayne speaking."

"Bruce? It's Sarah." A pause.

"Sarah? As in Sarah Marley?" Sarah rolled her eyes.

"No, it's the Sarah that you talked to last week." She heard laughing on the other end.

"Defiantly haven't lost your sense of humour. How are you?"

"Could be better. Nearly died by flaming helicopter today." She heard a crash on the other end, and waited for Bruce to pick the phone back up.

"Sarah? Shit. Was it the SHIELD 'copter?"

"Yeah." She moved and sat down onto her bed. "There's something funny going down. You remember that favour you owe me?" Bruce grumbled.

"Yes."

"I'm calling it in now. I need some gear."

"What sort of stuff? I have plenty of things in the back of the cella-"

"Bruce. I mean, _a lot._" He went silent. "How about I head down to Gotham and show you the things I need?" She could almost hear him smiling.

"That's fine. You know you're always welcome." She smiled.

"I'll have to ask mum and I'll get back to you." The two exchanged goodbyes and Sarah hung up. Bruce was the closest friend that she had, and the one that she had known for the longest. Moving to one of the boxes not unpacked, she pulled out a file and flicked through her designs. The first thing she would need to do is build a computer system. Working on a system that could be compromised would ruin everything.

She cringed.

Her mother wasn't going to like her pulling down the carpet from her walls.

* * *

><p>Sarah walked into the Tomorrow Academy the next day. The designs had filled her head and it had been hours until she had been able to go to sleep. Pulling out her timetable, she noted that she had her study period first, and headed to the class. Dodging the walking students, she paused as she saw Gene on the phone. He hit the door of his locker, swearing, and walked into the closest empty classroom, Sarah following. She paused at the doorway.<p>

"No! I told you what I wanted, and now you've destroyed it?" He paced as the person on the other end attempted to talk their way out of trouble.

"No. That is not going to be possible. I've given you the resources, now it's your turn." A short burst from the other end.

"Fine. Just get it done." Sarah flung herself from the doorframe and walked towards her classroom as Gene came out. She watched him in the reflection of the window covered wall. He was more relaxed. Not recognising Sarah from the back of her head, he turned the other way and disappeared around the corner. Opening the classroom door, she saw Tony, Rhodey and Pepper in their usual spot at the back of the classroom. Making her way over, she pulled out her notepad as she slid into the empty seat next to Tony. Pepper looked up, saw that she had made it, and as usual, started talking non-stop.

"Hey. How are you? Obviously you didn't die from getting hit in the head or anything." Pepper stopped talking and Sarah looked up in surprise. Instead, she saw her on her phone. Turning slightly, she noticed that both Tony and Rhodey were staring at her.

"What?" Rhodey looked down quickly, but Tony continued to look at her. She stared back. Then she raised an eyebrow. Tony spoke.

"Your eyes are green."

"That is one of the most random things you have ever said." Pepper looked up. Sarah replied.

"Nope, I've heard more random things than that." Sarah rolled her eyes. Tony was still staring.

"Okay. It's either there is something funny with my face or you're trying to distract me from the point that you told Rhodey." Tony's mouth dropped open and quickly shut. Sarah smirked.

"How…?"

"I don't really mind." She turned to Rhodey. "Seriously Rhodey, relax. It's not that bigger deal." Turning back, Tony had failed to keep his mouth shut.

"You're looking like a goldfish again." She opened her notebook. "I've started on my designs." Seeing that her notebook was filled with engineering scribble, Tony shuffled his seat closer.

"Where are you getting your materials from?"

"I've got a friend." Tony tapped his fingers impatiently. "I'm not going to tell you."

"The last name is Wayne." Tony, Rhodey and Sarah all spun around to look at Pepper, and Sarah noticed that Pepper had her phone. Pepper waved it in front of them.

"Hey!" Sarah made a snatch for it but Pepper was quicker, hopping out of her seat and dancing out of reach. "Whatever." Sarah moved back to her notebook, but after 5 seconds Tony started to poke her. She slapped his hand away, but he continued.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" He made his 'cocky' face and ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, I need to know who else has access to amazing things like I have."

"If amazing things is clothing, then there isn't much of a comparison."

"He wears better clothes than me?"

"Yes."

"Aha!" Tony jumped out of his seat. "You said yes to 'he'! It's a guy!"

"Woo. Well done detective." She turned to face Tony. "So then, Mr Detective, what else can you tell me about 'he'." Pepper made a little gasping noise behind her and Sarah spun around to find both Rhodey and Pepper were Googling. "Hey! That's cheating." Tony took the opportunity to poke her again and she slapped his hand again. Tony laughed.

"So you can find him on Google? That narrows it down." Pepper was still doing the gasping noise and both Tony and Sarah spoke in unison.

"What!" Pepper looked at Sarah.

"Would his first name, by any chance, start with a-. " Before Pepper could finish the sentence, Sarah flung herself over the table, yanked the phone out of Pepper's hands and fell to the floor, pulling Pepper with her.

"No!" Rolling, she came to her feet, while Pepper was shrieking on the floor. "No! You do not need to know!" Tony and Rhodey were laughing so hard that as they were leaning on the table, it moved and both lost their balance and fell. Sarah looked down on the three ridiculous teenagers cacking themselves. She sat cross-legged on the floor while the others caught their breath. Pepper betrayed her as soon as she caught her breath.

"It's Bruce. Bruce Wayne." Both Tony and Rhodey stopped gasping for air and stared at her.

"Whoa. Man, you know Bruce Wayne?" Rhodey turned to Tony. "Dude, that guy is richer than you are!"

"Nice way to rub it in, Rhodey." Tony thought for a second. "You think he dresses better than me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Irrelevant. We're friends."

"Tony, she's friends with Wayne!" Tony looked from Rhodey to Sarah.

"She's friends with me!" He looked at Sarah. "You are friends with me, right?" Sarah pulled him up from the floor and he took his seat.

"Maybe."

"Ouch, that's harsh. Meh, I'll take it as a yes." She smiled, and the bell went. The four made their way out of their classroom towards Physics. Sarah's phone went off and she pulled it out. Opening the text, she froze when she read it. The other three paused when they noticed she had stopped. Tony moved to her side.

"Sarah?"

_Don't go home. I'll attempt to contact you tonight, but if I don't, get to Fury. The dragon is off the chain. _

Tony read over her shoulder. Then spoke.

"What is that about? Dragon off chain? Is that name Fury, as in Nick Fury? SHEILD head guy?" Sarah looked up.

"I… have some explaining to do."

_The dragon is off the chain_. Her mum was in deep shit.

* * *

><p><strong>EEEE! Okay. So, YES, I did incorporate Bruce Wayne into this story.<strong>  
><strong>BEFORE YOU START TO ATTACK ME, LISTEN!<strong>  
><strong>My logic is that if other superheroes can be in IMAA, such as the Hulk, the Black Panther, etc. Than Batman can be too! Plus, I love Batman. Second only to Tony Freaking Stark.<strong>  
><strong>Review!<strong>


	5. Friends in High Places

**So, I have a thing where I just continually end it on cliff-hangers, and I'm sorry. Well, not really. It keeps you all interested, doesn't it? And I am sincerely sorry I haven't updated in absolute friggin' years, because I just finished my year 11 exams, so there was not enough hours in the day. SORRY!**

**AND I do realise that Batman is DC while Iron Man is Marvel. Yes. I am a walking encyclopaedia of those comic universes. This is fanfiction. Stuff can happen. **

**PS- This one is dedicated to Phoenix McWalshie. :)**

* * *

><p>When they got to physics, they couldn't talk. Sarah had said nothing during the short walk there. The professor had used the 'no talking, study' period on them. So there was Sarah, Tony, Rhodey and Pepper all sitting around a table. Pepper attempting not to talk and not succeeding, Rhodey being calm and collected as per usual on one side. On the other, Sarah was worried, and Tony had disappeared into his phone long ago. Instead of studying for physics, she also took out her phone and read the text again.<p>

_Don't go home. I'll attempt to contact you tonight, but if I don't, get to Fury. The dragon is off the chain._

Sarah sighed. There wasn't much she could do but wait. Her mum said that she would contact her later in the day, but if not, to get to Fury. This was not unexpected. Her mum was now a SHIELD 'agent', and the fact that the thing that she was following up was of national importance. Things had gotten dangerous before. Her phone vibrated, and she opened the text.

_Why did your mum say to go to Fury?_

She looked up at Tony, and saw that his face was serious. She rolled her eyes at the fact that they were texting each other while sitting about half a metre apart. She quickly replied.

_Really? We're right next to each other.  
>… My mum is technically a SHIELD agent at the moment.<em>

The conversation by text continued.

_At the moment?_

_She's a detective._

_So, the message about the dragon?_

_Is a code we created when she was in trouble. Something is off the chain means she's in deep and can't get out. I have a feeling this time that it means the people she's 'hunting' know too much._

The siren sounded, and the four stayed at the table while the other students cleared out. As soon as the last one left, Tony started talking.

"They know too much? As in your mum is hunting them and that they could get to you?"

"Maybe. I just…" She trailed off the sentence. She shut Tony up with a raise of her hand, and quickly attacked her phone. Hacking into the network her mum was using, she realised that the phone number that she had used was her small portable bug phone. Conclusion: Her smart phone was being recorded or tracked. Sarah stood, and started to pace back and forth away from the table.

"Okay. I'm going to think out loud. So, facts. My mum is a freelance detective that is amazing. She's doing something for SHIELD. She isn't using her smartphone because it's either being traced or hacked, so she's using the bug phone." Looking over, the questioning looks on their faces were enough. She continued to pace.

"Her bug phone is a tiny, tiny phone that she uses when she's deep under, it's practically impossible to trace." Pepper spoke up.

"Are you sure? Because tech here in the USA is a little bit more upmarket then in Australia."

"Pep. I am super sure. It is literally impossible. I build the software it runs on." There was silence for a long, drawn out minute. Sarah paced.

"Dragon, dragon, dragon. There must be something to do with the dragon. She's never used the dragon in that context before. Associated to dragons… fire, magic, Asian culture…" Pepper gasped, and Sarah spun on her heels, turning to face the three still sitting down. Pepper looked frightened. Rhodey and Tony were exchanging deep looks.

Tony cringed as Pepper gasped. The logical explanation was that SHIELD were sick of sitting on the sidelines watching Iron Man and The Mandarin hack it out against each other and decided to step in. There was so much that Sarah's mum could find out; Mr Fix, MODOC, Technovore, Whiplash… Last time someone went in, it was Pep's dad, and that had come close to a catastrophically bad ending.

In the short time that Rhodey had gotten to know Sarah, he realised how alike both she and Tony were. Both lacked the father figure, both ready to put themselves in danger for things that they thought were worth fighting for. And if her mum was in danger, she was going to go in and attempt to get her out. The only comfort was that she had them as friends. Friends with benefits.

Both Tony and Rhodey looked at each other. Should they tell her? The obvious answer to Tony was no. He didn't want her to get hurt. She put herself in too much danger already.

"Okay." Tony, Pepper and Rhodey turned to Sarah. She continued. "Obviously something is going on that's private between you guys and I don't want to intrude. I just need to know; is my mum in serious danger that you guys think that she may not have a very good chance of survival?"

Rhodey spoke up after an elongated period of silence.

"Yes."

Sarah felt like falling into a really deep hole and not getting out again. It had been this hard before, but this time felt different. Then her phone rang. Her hand flew to it, and looking up, the other three could tell it was from her mum. Sarah answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sez. How are you?"

"Mum? What's happening?" The others were looking on as she talked.

"Everything's fine. It was just an error in the gear. Nothing's happened. I was just making sure that if anything did go wrong, which it didn't, you would know what to do."

"So nothing happened? Nothing at all?"

"Nope. Sorry to make you worry."

A quiet reply. "Okay. I'm glad you're okay. "

"See you tonight." Then her mum hung up. Sarah turned back to the others.

"It was just an error in the gear." Sighing, she turned on her heels and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Pepper entered the armoury after school, entering her code into the lock and the wind blew her hair back as the door went up. She walked in, the door closing behind her. She found Tony leaning over the computer, deep in thought, and Rhodey sitting in the external control chair, bouncing a tennis ball against the wall.<p>

"Hey guys." Neither acknowledged her. She rolled her eyes and dropped her school bag on the ground. She took a seat on the computer bench next to Tony. He was going through SHIELD records.

"Do I want to know where you got them, Tony?"

"Probably not." Pepper looked over to Rhodey. "So I was thinking. The helicopter crash and Sarah's mum being a so-called temporary SHIELD agent and the text from her mother about the Mandarin and the fact that your dad knew her dad and the fact that no-one seems to know anything could be related." Tony turned to her.

"Pepper. What do you think I am doing with top secret SHIELD files, digging around whom they have hired and what they are doing about the Mandarin?"

"Oh." Pepper sat quietly for about 10 seconds. "I can't believe that she is friends with Bruce Wayne."

"I can't believe that Sarah thinks he dresses better than me!" Rhodey laughed.

"Dude, because you dress so well."

"Thanks man, I can feel the support flowing in rivers out of that sarcasm. I've collected what I know about Sarah's mother." Rhodey and Pepper moved to Tony's side.

"Tony, are you sure you want to do this? Sarah might not be so happy if she finds out…"

"…this is why she won't. Anyway, her mum's name is Leilani, and yes, she is a freelance detective. She's known for her ability to get the job done and do it quietly, there are only a few cases that she's worked on that the public know about, but SHIELD shows that she's worked on things like Afghanistan and something big up in Alaska."

"The UN problem that every government in the world tried to keep quiet?"

"Probably. Then there's a high priority file that I couldn't get because they've locked it behind so many firewalls it would take me 265 days to get, but I'm betting that it's something to do with the Mandarin." Rhodey clapped his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"When Sarah finds out, you're on your own man. Did you see how she jumped the table at Pepper?"

* * *

><p>Sarah killed the engine on the motorbike that she borrowed from her mother. When her mum hugged her as she got home, she said Sarah could do anything she wanted for tonight, and when she asked to go and visit Bruce, her mum encouraged her to take the bike and head down to his place in Gotham. Pulling the helmet off her head, she kicked the stand down and hopped off. Crossing the road, she pocketed the keys and carried the helmet under her arm. The automatic doors to the Wayne Industries slid open without so much as a sound and office people surrounded her. She slipped through the crowd and headed towards the reception desk.<p>

The woman at the desk continued to read her screen and type until Sarah cleared her throat. Looking up, the woman gave her look up and down, and then rested her hands on the desk.

"Welcome to Wayne Industries, my name is Melissa. How can I help?"

"I'm here to see Mr Bruce Wayne."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but…"

"You cannot see Mr Wayne without an appointment."

"You see…"

"Look, Miss…?

"Marley. Sarah Marley. And I'm prepared to bet my ride that if you patch my name up to level 75 that he would be more than willing to accept me without an appointment, Melissa." The receptionist glared at Sarah before reaching to the phone. The phone rang until she reached a male voice.

"What now?"

"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but I have a young woman at the front desk that wants to see you."

"Does she have an appointment?"

"No, but she said that she was…" Melissa sighed, "…prepared to bet her ride that you would accept her without one."

"Is her name Sarah?"

"Yes." The male voice swore.

"You kept her waiting? She is one of two people on the list of people that can see me at any time, any day of any year. Send her up. Now."

"Of course sir." The woman released the phone, flustered. Sarah just grabbed her helmet that she had rested on the reception desk, smiled nicely at Melissa and headed over to the elevator, and while the doors closed, watched as the poor woman sat there and glared back at her.

* * *

><p><strong>And so that is that. Next chapter should feature the discussion between Bruce and Sarah, a bit more secret research by Tony and maybe a fight. Who knows?<strong>

**Also, Tony, Sarah, Pepper and Rhodey are all sixteen in this until I change that with birthdays or skip years which I will probably not do for a long, long time, if ever. Bruce is 18, and runs WI. **


	6. MultiColoured Splodges of Blurriness

**I believe that this is chapter six.  
>IMAA is not mine, but Sarah and Leilani Marley are.<strong>

* * *

><p>The elevator carried Sarah up to the 75th floor and she watched out the glass walls as the road became smaller and smaller before the elevator came to a smooth halt. The doors opened with a ding, and Sarah walked out into a large room, nodding to the security guards next to the elevator as she passed. Pausing, she took in her surroundings. The room contained a lounge area with people talking quietly amongst themselves. Turning towards the furthest wall, she walked on to the doors which she assumed lead to Bruce's office. The security guards next to this door stopped her.<p>

"Excuse me miss, but I can't let you in." Sarah sighed and forced a smile.

"I've gone over this with the receptionist. Bruce is expecting me, and if you fear for his life, you're welcome to escort me in." The security guards exchanged gazes, then nodded and opened the door, ushering her in. They stopped her after they shut the door and they looked on at Bruce, who was pacing and talking with someone on the large screen behind his desk, lacking to notice their presence.

"Look, now is not a good time to be doing this, with the economy in the state that it is. We have to wait, and probably keep an eye on Stark Industries…" Sarah cringed. "…because I can't anticipate what Stane is doing."

"I understand Mr Wayne, but we have to think about…"

"We don't have to think about anything." Bruce ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "It's getting late. I suggest we continue this at a later time, perhaps next week." The two businessmen exchanged goodbyes and the video feed faded to a blank, black screen. The security guard to Sarah's right cleared his throat. Bruce turned, and when he saw the security guards flanking Sarah, he laughed. He could see how they worried; Sarah was wearing a black leather jacket with dark navy jeans, her military boots and was holding a motorbike helmet under her arm, with a glare to match.

"Tom, Sam, its fine. You can leave Sarah with me." The guards nodded, gave Sarah one last judgmental frown and then left, closing the door quietly behind them. Sarah broke out into a grin and ran at Bruce, jumping into his waiting arms. Bruce spun her around and then put her down. Both were still smiling. Sarah was the first to speak.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sarah ran a hand through Bruce's hair.

"No grey hairs. Sure you're not dying it yet?" He laughed and pulled her over to two comfy chairs. Sarah took a seat and watched as Bruce made two mugs of hot chocolate. He gave her one and took the seat across from her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, taking each other in.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Sarah sipped a mouthful before replying.

"Yes, it has. Well, it's not like we didn't keep in contact." Again, silence, but a comfortable one. Bruce set his mug on the coffee table.

"So you're going okay? There's nothing bothering you too much about the US of A?" Sarah smiled.

"Well, apart from the fact that I am dragged into every violent situation that occurs in a ten mile radius, nope, nothing at all."

"You said that you wanted some tech." Sarah sat her mug next to Bruce's half-empty one and pulled her knees to her chest. She looked out to the light-lit city as she spoke.

"Mum's into something big. Something is going on with SHIELD and it's got something to do with Iron Man and the Mandarin, plus every additional bothersome and frustrating player in the game. I want to find out what's going on. I can build most of the things but I need the basics to start."

"What do you have in mind?"

"First I'm building a secure network and computer to work on, and then from there, I dunno." Sarah rubbed her face with her hands. "Bruce, something is happening, and I don't want people I care about getting hurt. I know you are extremely capable of taking care of yourself, but please, be careful."

"Sarah, I'm the last person you should be worrying about."

"I know. But please."

"Of course." He looked at his watch. "It's going on a quarter to ten. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Fine, mock the younger one. But yes, I do."

"You attend the Tomorrow Academy, right?" Sarah stood, stretching out above her.

"Yes Bruce, I do. Next year will be my last year then I expect a well-paying job offer from you." He stood as well.

"What sort of best friend would I be if I didn't?"

"Well maybe a seriously atrocious and egocentric one?" They smiled at their banter. Bruce picked her helmet up from his desk and twirled it in his hands.

"Do you even have a licence to ride one of these? I thought you were only sixteen…"

"Since when did you ever worry about licences? I'm pretty sure that your 'secret' car and bike _and_ jet aren't even registered!"

"Cruel. Besides, everyone knows about them, so I don't worry. C'mon, I'll take you down." He grabbed her hand and led her out of his office, the lights turning off automatically after them. They found the lounge area deserted, and the elevator ride was swift and quiet. Bruce had yet to let go of her hand. The doors opened on the ground floor and the only person there was Melissa, the receptionist. Bruce took a detour over to her. She looked up as her boss approached with the mademoiselle she had to deal with earlier.

"Mel, I want you to remember that Sarah is on the 'anytime' list and I don't care if I'm in a meeting with the president, you send her up. Understood?" Melissa nodded and glared at Sarah. She just gave Melissa a sweet smile and let Bruce pull her towards the entrance of the building. The automatic doors opened and the chill of the night hit them. They stopped in front of her bike.

"Are you going out tonight?" Bruce looked up at the sky.

"Probably not, I might leave it this time. They haven't put the light up, so they're not in desperate need, besides, I beat up everyone dangerous two nights ago." Sarah started the engine.

"You meet with the president?" He smiled.

"You never know what might happen, you of all people should realise that." She poked her tongue out at him. "I'll send down the gear you'll need for the computer during this week."

"Thanks. Now you don't owe me." Sarah fitted her helmet over her head and flicked the visor down. She gave Bruce one last nod and then set off, heading back to NYC, her bike's lights one of the only on the streets of Gotham.

* * *

><p>Half grey and half multi-coloured splodges of blurriness were the first things that Tony's eyes attempted, and failed to focus on when he opened them. He shut them quickly and covered his eyes with his hand. He then jerked up when he realised that he wasn't in bed, instead he had fallen asleep at his computer in the armoury and the data on Leilani Marley was still up on the screen. Rubbing his eyes, he spun the chair around to the digital clock that the computer projected onto the wall.<p>

"Shit!" Tony bolted from the chair, pulled his Mark 2 backpack onto his shoulders, pocketed his phone and flew out the armoury. As soon as he was outside, he pressed the chest piece, and never faltered a step as the armour covered him. Before the armour was even fully on, he started the repulsers and went supersonic. Taking only two minutes and forty five seconds to fly over New York, he landed in an alley close to the Tomorrow Academy without anyone noticing Iron Man in their presence. It took him another fifteen seconds for the armour to return to the backpack form. Sprinting out of the alley, he knocked people aside and ignored their protests as it took him three minutes and thirty seven seconds to tumble through the door of his physics first period.

Six minutes and fifty three seconds late.

Gasping for breath, his teacher just glared and continued the summary of his lesson for the period and Tony looked around for his friends. Rhodey was covering his face with his hands (ignoring his presence at all cost), Pepper was talking to Rhodey and Sarah was staring at him with a slight smirk. He walked over (while attempting not to gasp for air) and took his seat next to Sarah, who was now wearing a full blown smirk. He elbowed Sarah in the side as he placed his backpack on the ground, and he received a brilliantly positioned fist to his left-side kidney. He gasped in pain, but managed to disguise it when the teacher looked over.

The teacher left the classroom to go and get the information for them that he'd forgotten. The whole class started to talk, including Sarah.

"So. Slept in?"

"Ah, um, maybe. I may…have never…actually…made it to bed?" Opening her notebook, Sarah just sighed.

"Have you never learnt that pulling all-nighters never does anyone any good?"

"Hey! It wasn't an all-nighter, I just fell asleep at my computer."

"I seriously doubt that you were studying, so what were you looking at?" Tony quickly looked away from Sarah's gaze and opened his notebook, heat flushing to the back of his neck. The way he was going, Sarah would find out by the end of the day.

"Nothing much…just some stuff to do with Stark Industries." _Lie._ The word echoed around his head and he held back a grimace. He didn't like doing it, but sometimes things were best kept secret. The teacher made his way through the door, and Sarah couldn't comment on Tony's last reply. Sarah could see Tony wasn't comfortable, so maybe something was going on with the company. The two engineers didn't speak for the rest of the period, and only trivial conversation at lunch, as Pepper invaded all discussions and demanded the spotlight.

The end of the day came quickly, and the four of them; Sarah, Pepper, Tony and Rhodey left the campus and started walking together through NYC. Sarah would usually break off at one of the main streets to head west whereas Tony and Rhodey, usually accompanied by Pepper, would continue heading north-east. As they made their way closer to the dividing point, Pepper, in a short amount of time where she would pause for breath, looked up, and a lone figure on top of a building caught her eye. Stopping, she continued to stare as the lone figure, dressed in black, scanned the crowd.

"Pepper?" The others had realised that she had paused. Movement caught the corner of her other eye and she noticed that there was not one, but at least ten of the black clad figures atop buildings, all scanning the crowd. Suddenly, they all disappeared.

"Pepper?" Rhodey put his hand on her shoulder. She snapped out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, no, it's all good. Thought I saw something, just was a bird. It's just a bird." She chuckled nervously and continued to walk. Rhodey and Tony exchanged glances, but continued walking anyway. They stopped on the corner where Sarah split off from them. They exchanged goodbyes and Sarah turned west, while the others turned east. As soon as Sarah was out of hearing range, the two guys started on Pepper.

"It wasn't a bird, was it?"

"No. At least I don't think it was a bird. There seemed to be figures in black on the rooftops that seemed to be looking at all the people walking, but they disappeared, so I thought it was all good."

"What did they look like?"

"Dressed in black. Wait." She thought for a moment. "I couldn't see their faces. They were also black." Tony pulled the others to a stop.

"Pepper. Are you sure you couldn't see their faces?" She stared at his face, a mixture of fear and recognition.

"I'm sure. Tony, what is it?" As the words left her mouth, the three heard screams from behind them. All of them spun to look, and the road was in chaos. People were running and screaming everywhere, and black clad figures were the cause of the chaos.

"Because I think that it was the Tong. Oh no." Tony fell silent. "They're going after her. They know!" Tony took off running towards the chaos.

"Hey, Tony, man, wait!" Rhodey realised that there was no point chasing after him, both Pepper and him pulled out their Bluetooth headsets and placed them in their ears. Then they took off running towards the armoury as fast as they could.

Sarah said goodbye and headed down the main road that she took to get to her house. Pepper seemed nervous at something, but she didn't seem like she was seeing a ghost or anything, plus Sarah assumed that it was one of the things that they didn't want her to know about. So, she kept on walking. That was until people started screaming. Stopping in her tracks, she turned towards the screaming, but before she could move, a hand went to her mouth and one arm went to her chest, and the person dragged her into a side alley. The attacker was taller than she was, and most likely male, considering the calloused hand on her mouth and muscular arm around her chest. As soon as the unknown person stopped moving, she flung her head back and heard a satisfying crack as she broke the nose of her attacker. He gasped and let her go.

Her head was throbbing in pain but she had a feeling that if she didn't do anything now, she was going to be in a whole lot more by tonight. Turning, she ducked as the broken nose _ninja_ took aim at her head, and nearly got her. She went to run, but then three more _ninjas_ (for god's sake, ninjas!) made their way into the alley. She could still hear the chaos from the main street as she guessed more ninjas were creating havoc to distract from the fact that they had her in here. A hand grabbed her left arm from behind so she span clockwise and brought the ninja closer and used her right elbow to smash his already broken nose. He let go and fell to the floor, out cold from the pain. The adrenalin was flowing through her body, but fear nearly paralysed her as she realised that the three ninjas coming towards her were armed.

Backing away as fast as they were approaching, she nearly tripped over the unconscious ninja and the one with the staff came at her. She ducked his first blow, but it was a feint and she took a hit to the right side of her ribs, winding her. As he came closer, she kicked out at his shins and got a blow in, but he went for the right side and winded her again. Gasping for air, she didn't realise that the other two had moved behind her and she gasped, unable to speak, as a blade sliced across her back in one fluid, long stroke. In one last final attempt, she tried to place a roundhouse kick to the ninja behind her. It landed in his stomach, and he made a small sound, as if the blow had hardly landed. Then she took a blow to the head from the staffed ninja and she collapsed in a heap on the ground, her eyes closing without her recognition, bright blue light flooding her last conscious moments.

* * *

><p><strong>I want to leave it there because I'm keeping the chapters roughly 2000 words each, and this one is edging up to 3000. Reviewing is always nice.<strong>


	7. Wolves & Sheep

**Chapter Seven. I don't own anything, yada yada the usual (but Sarah and Leilani are **_**mine)**_**.**

* * *

><p>Tony sprinted down the road straight towards the chaos, the opposite direction to the crowd. Dodging oncoming people, he took a left into a dark alleyway, one of the multiple along this road. The suit only took fifteen seconds to boot, but it felt like fifteen seconds too long. He propelled himself into the sky, and looked down upon the chaos. The computer quickly disassociated who was Tong and who was civilian.<p>

"Computer, find Sarah." The computer scanned the crowd, attempting a super speed facial recognition, but it failed to find her.

"Shit. Computer, locate Sarah's phone location." Locking on to the SHIELD satellite, the computer quickly scanned the area and then showed Tony, in infra-red mode, one of the side alleys, with 5 figures, one on the ground. Sarah's mobile phone glowed purple, and Tony watched in horror as the Tong knocked her about. He went supersonic with the repulsers, getting to the alley as fast as possible. Before he had a chance, he watched as one of the Tong slashed her back and Sarah went down. He descended in the alley, cutting his repulsers and flung an armoured hand into the unarmed ninja, flinging him through a wall. Turning, he took a hit from the staffed ninja that threw him off balance. The ninja continued to move quickly, hit after hit landing, keeping him unbalanced. Tony lifted his arms and the magnetic waves pulled both the knife and the metal staff from both ninja's hands. Realising that they were unable to fight Iron Man without weapons, both disappeared, leaving Sarah unconscious on the ground. Dropping the weapons, Tony ran to Sarah, kneeling down next to her.

"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me? Oh god. Computer, full body diagnostic. Contact Leilani Marley and tell her that Iron Man is taking Sarah to hospital after he intercepted the Tong attempting to capture and possibly kill her." Watching the computer run the diagnostic, he started to pick up Sarah's unconscious body and when he had her securely in his arms, he took off as fast as possible without putting Sarah's body through any more strain.

"Tony? What's happened?" Rhodey and Pepper had been unable to contact Tony via Bluetooth while they had been running, but they had arrived at the armoury and both were at the control seat.

"They got to her. I'm taking her to hospital and the suit is running a diagnostic."

"Diagnostic complete: large laceration to the posterior area, damaging muscular structure. Bruising throughout the body. Recommendation: immediate treatment." Tony descended at the hospital, and handed over Sarah to the waiting staff, having gotten the computer to contact ahead during mid-flight. He repeated what the diagnostic had said.

"Her mother has been contacted and should be on her way."

"Thank you Iron Man." They wheeled her away as fast as possible and Tony was left standing, watching as one of his best friends was surrounded by medical staff. He then let the auto pilot take him back to the armoury, his mind unable to cope.

Pepper and Rhodey were waiting when Tony came out of the suit back at the armoury. They watched him walk past them, collapse in a chair at the computer and start typing. The two shuffled closer, not wanting to set off what was perhaps a time bomb of stress and fatigue. They watched as Tony pulled up the medical records at the hospital. He read them out loud.

"They took her in to surgery right away. She's still in there, but they think that she's going to be okay." He ran a hand through his hair.

"They got to her too quickly. I wasn't fast enough." Pepper spoke up before Rhodey could.

"Tony, you did all that you could. Imagine if you weren't Iron Man. Then she would probably have been dead." He sighed.

"I know."

"C'mon." Pepper pulled Tony and Rhodey out of the armoury and to the couches that they had set up in the huge shed. Collapsing into them, the three sat in silence. Rhodey broke it.

"We're going to have to be careful how we approach the next, um, phase. We can't go rushing off to the hospital because technically we don't know that it happened. Only Iron Man does and if you go rushing off to the hospital then it's sort of a dead giveaway and we want to keep SHIELD and Detective Marley off our backs." Pepper was jumping up and down in her seat, hand raised.

"How about I text her? Not really a big deal, considering. I can say that we saw what happened in the street on the news or as we were walking the other way and then if she doesn't reply, which she probably won't because they tend to confiscate personal items from patients. Then when she doesn't reply I'll ring her mobile a couple of times and when she doesn't reply I'll ring her home phone…"

"You have her home phone?" Pepper just gave Rhodey a glare.

"..of course I have her home phone, I have your home phone. Anyway, I'll ring her home phone and if her mum answers, which she might, then I can talk to her and find out what happened that we already know about." Both boys were just staring at Pepper. That whole plan had come out of her mouth in less than forty seconds. Rhodey's face was sceptical.

"Pepper, it's a bit…"

"Pep, that is actually brilliant." Tony stood up and started pacing. Then he paused and turned to Pepper.

"You would actually do that?" Pepper just smiled.

"Already texted her phone. She hasn't replied and she normally does. I'll text her 2 more times before I ring her phone."

The first thing that Sarah felt was the cold. Her leg was twitching and she was unable to stop it. Feeling started to return to her body and she had to think hard about where she was, not able to remember anything immediately. Then realising that she had been under attack, her eyes flew open and she drew a huge gasp. She went to sit up, but her back didn't let her. Her eyes roamed the room and she realised that she was in a hospital room. Sarah told herself to breathe calmly and assess the situation.

They had obviously operated on her back where the ninja (she still hadn't gotten over the fact that they had been ninjas) had slashed a long gash across her back. She couldn't feel any pain, and assumed that the painkillers were doing their job. She had a drip in her arm, rehydrating her and giving her other essential things. She was bruised, battered and cut, but she was alive. The door to the room opened and a nurse came in. As the door was closing, she noticed that there were two SHIELD agents stationed at her door.

"Hello deary. How are you feeling?"

"Drowsy."

"Yes, well, the painkillers do that to you." She set her things on the bedside table and had a look at all the machinery attached to her.

"Can I see the doctor that has been looking after me?" The nurse collected her things back up.

"Of course. And after the doctor there is your mother and, well, other visitors." She walked out of the room. Approximately seven minutes later, the doctor walked in bearing a clipboard. He nodded to her and drew one of the seats next to the bed.

"Hello. You were asking for me."

"Yes."

"This isn't the first time you've had a hospital visit, is it?"

"No"

"Well you'll understand the procedure. Could you please tell me your full name?" Sarah sighed and just glared at the doctor.

"Sarah Evelyn Regina Marley-Demine is what it says on my birth certificate and passports, but I go by Sarah Evelyn Marley."

"Very good. Your birthday should be no trouble after that."

"The twelfth of October, nineteen ninety-five."

"Simple. Now you're welcome to ask me anything."

"What happened?" The doctor put his pen and clipboard into his lap.

"You were unconscious when you came into our care. We put you straight into surgery as soon as we were sure that you would come out of unconsciousness afterwards. We had to reattach many of your muscles in your back as when you were knifed it cut through them. You have one hundred and twenty four stitches closing the gash on your back."

He had failed to answer the one thing that intrigued her the most.

"How did I come into your care?" The doctor stood and drew the chair back to where it was before. He checked his watch before answering.

"Iron Man brought you. He called ahead to give us warning, and he also contacted your mother to tell her. Now, you have some very impatient visitors. Shall I send in your mother?"

Sarah just nodded. The doctor left, and through the open door Sarah could see her mother exchanging greetings with the guards stationed at her door. She walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Hey Mum." Leilani smiled at her.

"Not exactly what I wanted to see in the first year of you being in America. Seriously, why can't you take care of yourself?" The joking between the two had started after her first kidnapping. It was easier for both of them to handle than the worry and stress.

"Oh dear, I don't know. Did you get the one on the ground?" Leilani smiled.

"Currently in SHIELD custody. Nice job. Scans show his nose broken in three places."

"He asked for it." Sarah looked over to the window. "What day is it?"

"Thursday. They held you under for a bit longer just for the stitches to grab hold without you accidentally pulling them." Sarah smiled. Her mother leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I have to go and set a few things straight, I'm sorry. The guard at your door won't be removed. You have a few of your friends wanting to see you. They've been hanging around for the past day and a half."

"Which ones?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Her mother left, and she saw a flash of red through the window before Pepper came bursting through the door, followed by Rhodey and Tony. Pepper practically sprinted to her side while Tony and Rhodey brought three chairs over.

"Hey Sarah! They wouldn't let us in until you woke up and talked to your mother but we've been hanging around the hospital for about a day now and it's kinda weird because they dragged Tony away to fix one of the machines that he and his dad had designed and Rhodey's been drooling over one of your guard-"

"Have not!"

"-but other than that it's been fine. How are you feeling?" Pepper collapsed into the chair that the guys had put behind her and Sarah felt somewhat better. This reminded her of the many times the four of them had sat in the empty sheds on the Rhodes property.

"I've been better." The three visitors didn't talk and watched her closely. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Guys, seriously. It's not like I'm some fragile glass and the vibrations of you speaking is going to shatter me. This is definitely not the first hospital trip that included someone trying to kill me." They stayed silent. She sighed.

"The first time was when I was six. I've had about five since then, not including this one. I have-"A knocking on the door interrupted her. All four looked to the door to see a SHIELD agent.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's someone else to see you." The door opened even more and Bruce Wayne walked through, looking quite sheepish. Pepper gave an almighty squeak while Rhodey sat there, mouth gaping. Tony was the only one capable of anything, so he stood up and walked over. He extended his hand.

"You must be Bruce Wayne. I'm Tony Stark." Bruce shook his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you. I met your dad but never you. I'm sorry for your loss. I do hope that you plan to take back Stark Industries, because Obadiah Stane is making a huge mess."

"Don't worry. I am definitely planning to take it back."

"Good." The two turned and walked back to where Rhodey had recovered but Pepper was still speechless. Sarah spoke.

"Pep?"

"Ahhhhh yeah?"

"Could you grab another chair?"

"Yeah…sure…" She moved as if she was asleep, gliding back to her seat after giving Bruce a chair. After watching her four friends, she started laughing. Then she gasped and grimaced when her stiches pulled.

"Stop laughing." She looked to Tony.

"But you are all so hilarious." He raised his eyebrows.

"How exactly are we hilarious?"

"Look at yourselves. It's like I've invited a wolf into a flock of sheep. Geez. Relax for god's sake. You're all my friends so get over the fact that two of you are rich billionaires. Anyway. What was I saying before?"

"You have how many stiches in your back?"

"One hundred and twenty four. Largest amount I've ever had. Brings the count up to four hundred and sixty seven." She could see the horror that they all failed to hide. "My mum is in a dangerous line of work, and I feel the wrath of it sometimes. Don't worry. Now go. You need to go and relax and stuff like that." The four of them got the hint and left, returning the room to normal. Relaxing back, she wondered how long it would take for her to get out of the hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter finite.<strong>


	8. Not Allowed

**Chapter Eight.**

* * *

><p>Sarah was allowed out of the hospital on the third day, but with severe restrictions. They was to be no moving quickly, not stretching, no exerting herself. She was allowed to go back to school the next day, but was not allowed to carry anything, which was fine since Tony said that he was going to carry for her. She was forbidden to play any sport or do any sort of exercise until the doctor said so, and walking to and from school wasn't allowed. That meant no physical training. Practically, Sarah thought, everything I do is not allowed.<p>

There was another thing that apparently was needed. SHIELD had placed a guard on her at all times until she healed. Agent Maria Hill knew Tony and the others from previous events, and apparently Nick Fury decided that she was the best person available.

So this was how Sarah's Monday morning played out. Agent Hill drove her to school in a militarised SHIELD vehicle, marched her into the Tomorrow Academy and intimidated absolutely everybody in the building, because she just _had_ to be fully armed. Just in case.

Sitting in English, she wished that she was able to bang her head on the desk because for the second time that year everyone, absolutely everyone, was watching her. Tony sat to her right and Agent Hill behind her, eyes like a hawk. Even with them taking their seats at the back of the classroom, their classmates managed to stare at them for the majority of the period. The stitches in her back ached occasionally, and she attempted to hide it, because whenever she moved her face slightly from a comfortable neutral expression, Tony and Agent Hill were onto her in a flash, asking her if she needed pain medication, to leave the class, anything at all.

Their concern got to her in Advanced Physics. Since Tony had donated a fair sum of money to the Science department (he wouldn't say why, but she guessed it was something to do with the explosion that occurred a year before which took out most of the science department and the money may have been why he was allowed to continue at the school after that), they had been able to stream the classes that they hadn't been able to before, and both Tony and Sarah ended up in the Advanced Classes for all the sciences that they took. The entrance tests had been a breeze.

Sitting there listening to the lecture by their teacher on the basics of biophysics (which was easy, by the way,) she felt a spasm slowly start to form at the base of her back and slowly increase in intensity. Not wanting to alert Tony or Agent Hill to it, she slid into her neutral facial expression and held it. The spasm climbed up along the slash held together by the stitches, and she held every muscle in her body tense in attempt to make no noise and deal with the intense pain that was slowly climbing up her back. A sudden jolt hit her hard, and she couldn't help but gasp. Agent Hill was on her in milliseconds.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Sarah grimaced.

"Nothing." Her voice came out in a strangled gasp. Tony's face filled with concern.

"Sarah?"

"I'm fine." Her voice came out stronger that time, and she took another deep breath in as another jolt rocked her body. Not being able to hold tense, both Tony and Hill saw it occur. Hill had her comms unit up and working in seconds, and was attempting to get in contact with the doctor. Tony had his hands on her shoulders, and he felt another spasm climb up her back. He turned to Hill.

"Agent Hill, we need to get her out of here and for someone to look at this." Hill nodded while listening to the doctor.

"I'm fine!" Sarah's voice rang loud and clear. She shrugged off Tony's hands and stood up. As she straightened her back pain shot through, and she curled over. Tony grabbed her before she could lose her balance, and the room went silent.

The silence was broken by all the windows on the left wall shattering and the echoing sound of gunshots.

Agent Hill screamed over the comms unit as everyone dropped to the floor shouting and screaming. Tony was crouched over her, and Agent Hill was screaming directions at everyone in her accented English, swearing in what Sarah made out to be Japanese and was shooting, a gun in each hand, at the windows. Tony glanced over to his backpack, which Sarah noted as interesting considering they were being shot at but the thought left her as another spam ran down her back. Shaking on the floor in the middle of a fire fight was not the situation she wanted to be in. Most of their class had managed to make it to the door and out of the classroom, and only Sarah, Tony and Agent Hill remained, trapped towards the back of the lecture room being overturned desks. Agent Hill paused to reload and relay instructions to Tony.

"Get Sarah out of here, the blueprints of the school say that there is a passage out the back of this classroom, that door that no one ever touches. Go, and I'll hold them off as best I can." She threw a small device at him and he caught it easily, looking down at it.

"Activate it as soon as you're reasonably clear. I've got SHIELD helicrafts heading this way and when you activate that, they'll start shooting like there is no tomorrow. I'll be fine." Adding the last few words to appease the concerned look on Tony's face, he looked back down to where Sarah was still lying on her side on the floor, and nodded. Helping her up slowly, and shouldering most of her weight, he half-carried her to the door and kicked it open. Going through what he assumed was a staff corridor, they ended up in the staff room, and Tony continued to half-carry her out of the building where all students had gathered and SHIELD agents had blocked off the school, including the street that they were on. Tony activated the device and both him and Sarah looked overhead as the helicrafts rained down, moving to the back area of school, and started shooting. It was over in a matter of seconds.

Not waiting to see if Agent Hill made it out, Tony started dragging her to the nearest ambulance.

"Tony, I'm fine! You do not need to drag me around like a five year old and as if I'm made of glass."

He glared at her. "You were on the ground back there, and you're still in pai-don't even try to deny it, I can see it in your face. Now you will come with me and have your back looked at." His gaze softened.

"Please."

"Fine."

Sarah resented her back. It made her incapable of doing anything to defend herself, and now she not only had Agent Hill guarding her, but about 5 different agents as well, on a rotation roster. They didn't come into her room though, and for that she was grateful. She needed her privacy.

She also didn't need for them to see Batman climbing through her window at 11 at night. She only heard the rustle after he was in her room and she tried not to show that she hadn't noticed him earlier.

"Bruce, what are you doing here?! I have guards on rotation and I don't know what terms you are on with SHIELD." He surprised her by not having a snappy comeback for her to enjoy but instead rushing to her side, and taking her into his arms in the gentlest hug she had ever experienced.

"Are you okay?" The mask he wore made his eyes black as night, and she could see the amount of concern radiating out of them. She stared back, slightly lost, not wanting to accept how safe and happy she was with his arms around her. Then she realised what she was doing and broke the stare.

"Bruce, I'm fine. I had a few spasms this afternoon but the doctors said that it was normal for that to happen with the amount of damage that my body has taken, and the stressful situations that I've been in. They've banned me from going to school until the stitches are out." She felt the tiniest pull at her heart when he took his arms away from around her, and then shot it down. He was her friend and one of her closest at that.

No feelings. Not allowed.

He held up his hand, gesturing for her to wait a minute, and then climbed out the window again. Sarah took a seat at her desk, shuffling through the designs she had drawn up as soon as she had been released from hospital for the third time that week and had gotten home. She was not going to let herself be defenceless again, and she had to do something about what was going down. Looking up, she saw Bruce slowly working a large piece of glass through her window. She hissed at him.

"Why are you giving me this now!? Couldn't you wait until morning or something?" He ignored her and once the glass had been carefully placed leaning against her wall, he went back outside. She slowly wandered to the window and whisper-yelled at him.

"Don't you dare have your Jet parked on my roof Bruce Wayne." She saw him making his way down again and moved out of his way.

"Now what would make you say that?" She rolled her eyes and slowly (she hated this, the way she had to walk to compensate for her back) made her way over to the glass. She saw the small metal framework inside and approved. Response to touch was always easier to work with in terms of not only design but programming. And she needed both for this 'project' to work. Bruce pulled the last bit of equipment through the window and helped Sarah fix it to her wall and attach everything up. Standing back to admire their handiwork, she noted the vast change her room had been under in such a small amount of time. Her room, now that the glass had lit up and was set for programming, had a blue tinge to it, with the glow from the glass causing patters to rest on her opposite wall. She liked this light. It was comforting; technology was always something she took comfort in. The rest of the tech was either stored under her bed in her custom made safe (brilliant thing, considering she designed the lock). That was for later.

"Thank you Bruce. I owe you one." He (gently) put his arm around her and (lightly) pulled her against his side.

"No owing. This one's on me." Since when did he get so tall? She was close to six foot, and she just reached his shoulders. She glanced at her clock.

"Bruce, it's going on 3. You probably need to go." He nodded in agreement, but paused as their eyes caught. His hand moved from her shoulder to rest against her cheek, and she realised that her brain wasn't working. Bruce seemed to catch himself, and before she could comprehend anything, he was gone, his silent Jet not making a sound. The back of her legs found the edge of her bed, and then she was sitting there. She didn't realise she had moved to lying position until at least half an hour later, when her mind seemed to return to her control.

She was questioning things now.

Did she like Bruce? Did she have feelings for him?

Did he have feelings for her? But then the little voice in the back of her head, quietly, almost to quiet to hear, mentioned one name.

_Tony._

She wanted to leave her room; she wanted to go sprinting across rooftops or through streets, anything to stop thinking.

She might have had the ability to shut her mind off, but her heart continued to beat on.

* * *

><p><strong>Finito for now.<strong>


	9. Rumours

With one hundred and twenty four stitches in your back, there is only so much a person can do without pulling them out accidentally or knocking yourself out with the pain when they jolt. So Sarah was stuck at her house, in her room, confined and banned from doing practically everything (they were close to telling her that she wasn't allowed to walk, but she shut that one down pretty quickly). So instead she sat at her new computer/desk for most of the day, and programmed her new tech.

Bruce had given her state of the art gear, and she realised she had to brush up on some of her skills if she was going to make this work. Kicking herself (mentally) that she had let her knowledge slip, she hacked into her dad's hard drive (well it wasn't really hacking, the password was her birthday plus her initials in a certain order; it was only a matter of time until she got it, really; nothing too illegal) and brushed up on the codes that she needed to know. Pepper, Rhodey and Tony dropped into her house every afternoon straight after school. She got some of the coursework off of them, while she was getting minimal from the actual school, who thought it was in her best interests to actually '_rest and heal and not exert her mentally_', Sarah didn't agree. So she had her friends bring her the coursework that they did in class, and she photocopied most of their notes (she downloaded onto the computer afterwards, they didn't know about her setup yet). Tony tended to stay longer than the others, saying to Rhodey that he would always catch up to him later and that he'd be home in time for dinner. Sarah didn't mind.

So after an afternoon of tears of laughter and after Rhodey and Pepper had headed home, Sarah decided to show Tony her room. Following her up the stairs while maintaining a hand on her waist to steady her (she questioned whether the rate that her heart was going at that time was good for her healing capacity), she lead him into her room.

They paused at the doorway, and Tony had to say, he was extremely impressed with what Sarah had. He didn't even have the rhodium plated touch screen glass setup that she had, but then again he preferred to use a certain type of hologram for most of his functions. He saw the small wires that were around the room, but he could tell they were there for backup as the whole system ran wirelessly.

"Sarah, I'm impressed." She stuck her tongue out at him, and took her seat by the computer.

"Bruce dropped some stuff around for me to fiddle with, and I decided that I needed a system to work from, and I hate using other people's setups, too many bugs and faults and general mess-ups."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." He watched as she fiddled with a part of the table. She really was quite amazing. Someone that matched his skill in engineering, as much as she denied it. The only reason he hadn't told her about the other side of his life was to protect her.

She was already in too much danger.

Tony's phone beeped, alerting both the teenagers that Tony really did need to get back to his place for dinner, or Rhodey's mother was going to have him in pieces. Tony pulled the phone out and saw a warning text from Rhodey. Tony gave Sarah a sad smile.

"I have to head off. Rhodey's giving me the warning text." Sarah smiled. Tony shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders and clipped it up. Sarah started to slowly get up from her seat but Tony gave her a glare. She matched his glare with hers, but lowered herself back into the seat. Tony's phone beeped again.

"Okay, gotta run". Leaning forward, he paused to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek. Sarah resisted the shiver that ran through her as his lips touched her skin. He tucked a strand of her hair that was floating around her face behind her ear, gave her a cute little smile and then disappeared out of her room.

Sarah wasn't too sure her heart was working.

* * *

><p>Tony was kind of freaking out as he rushed down the stairs of Sarah's house, gave Leilani a quick wave and dashed out the front door. He powerwalked to the closest enclosed area he could find, powered up the suit and then was in the air.<p>

"Computer, autopilot."

What was he thinking, honestly? That was the thing, he wasn't thinking when he leaned down to kiss her cheek, or when he brushed his fingers against her face to tuck the misbehaving strands behind her ear. He wasn't even sure that she liked him!

"You know, your cute little freak out is rather amusing. What did you do, make out with her or something?" Tony choked on air as Pepper interrupted his thoughts over the intercom. "The spluttering really isn't attractive Tony, I think we're going to need to work on that before you try anything more with Sarah."

"Pepper, I didn't make out with her!" He heard her sigh.

"Why not, I would have had something great to talk to her about. Girl stuff, finally! So what did you do then?"

"Pep why do I need to tell yo-"

"Tony why wouldn't you tell me! I'm like your best friend and your only friend that is a girl apart from Sarah." He heard her mutter something about Whitney but he didn't comment on it.

"Okay okay." The armour pulled into the armoury and went through the process of folding back into his backpack. Pepper sat in her chair expectantly.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tony walked slowly up to where she was and leaned against the stand.

"I kissed her on the cheek." He mumbled the words out but Pepper's hearing was like a hawk's sight.

"You did! YAY oh my god this is brilliant something is actually starting to happen this is brilliiannnntttt!"

"Pepper I don't even know if she likes me what if I crossed a line?" Pepper danced up to him.

"Tony Tony Tony, really? You are really blind sometimes." With that, Pepper practically danced out of the armoury. "I'm off to dinner with Dad, he got the night off. Seeya tomorrow!"

And so she left Tony standing there with only her words to think about.

* * *

><p>While she had Tony, Rhodey and Pepper visiting her during the afternoon, she also had another visitor most evenings. Bruce had decided that while she was incapable of defending herself to a reasonable extent, he would spend the majority of the evenings with her. Leilani didn't know of this, of course, and even though her mum was a super awesome agent, she didn't have supersensitive hearing that was needed when Bruce decided to sneak around. Sarah had gotten used to pretending not to be surprised when he appeared in her window. Most nights she would be working at her computer and suddenly there would be a shadow standing over her. Before she would be able to jump, he would very lightly hug her, plant a light kiss in her hair and take a seat next to her. He always treated her like fine china, but this was a bit on the extreme end. Her back was on the mend, the improvements to medical technology were amazing these days, and besides, she had access to some of the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. She was close to being, most likely, better than it had been before.<p>

Fury had seen to that. He owed her mother that much.

At least when her friends were here she was distracted. When she was alone, her head ran a million miles an hour, her vivid imagination running wild. All she knew was that it was a terrible, terrible idea to think about Tony or Bruce in any way other than friends. Unfortunately, she needed the brain cells that she would rather lose banging her head against a wall. The coding for the programmes she was running was technical, and her plans were not any easier.

She did not expect to change things overnight, but she was definitely going to be able to defend herself next time some sort of attack happened again. Whom was she kidding; it was going to happen again. Her mother had too many connections and too many enemies. She pulled up the screenshot that she had hacked from the CCTV that was in the street that she had been pulled from. There was the multiple ninja's throughout the street, distracting from the commotion of her being dragged into the shadows. However, they were not what she was interested in. It was the figure on the distant rooftop, the dark shadow dressed in complete black armour, watching the attack. The figure who had a match on multiple conspiracy databases and one rather significant hit on a peripheral SHIELD database.

The Mandarin.

This was why her mother was requested from her station and dragged to America, the reason why SHIELD and Fury were up in arms. Theories are that the Mandarin was a man with altered DNA from the Makluan, an ancient species of alien. But that's all they are; rumours. Sarah wasn't sure if she believed in alien life forms, but all the weird and interesting things that happen around the world couldn't always be explained by pure science. Another thing she knew was that the Mandarin held rings – rings of power, once again rumoured to be ancient out of this world technology. Again, she still wasn't sure if the rumours were true.

She shut down the screenshot and pulled up her design program. This wasn't ancient tech, but it would help her defend herself. If Bruce found out what she was doing with the gear he had gave her… he would probably murder her, she accepted. He'd take it as her trying to get into the hero business.

Well, there was always the option. The tech would be last resort if they knew her identity, but if they didn't know, then she'd have more of an ability to investigate.

She checked her phone, then sighed as she saw that it was close to 2am. Shutting down her system, she hobbled over to her bed and climbed under her covers, shaking out the pins and needles from her leg. Shutting her bedside lamp off, she closed her eyes, and quietly hoped that the nightmares would not make an appearance this time.


End file.
